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, I hope you'll take a moment to enjoy the following story.
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De La Salle Middle School
A Student's Journey
Joshua with his parents, Robert and Taquita, at graduation. | Joshua W. is a self-assured young man, confident that he will succeed in high school, college, and in his career as a professional athlete or sportswriter. But he wasn't always this way. According to both Joshua and his mother, Taquita, he used to be very shy - which often made learning a challenge at his public elementary school. "I was in class with thirty other kids and didn't feel OK asking questions, so sometimes I had to learn by myself," recalls Joshua.
Joshua also remembers the first time he heard about De La Salle Middle School: "I was one of the top students in sixth grade, and my teacher thought it might be a good fit for me." With his teacher's help he researched the school and learned that "De La Salle has a great academic program, great teachers, and they can help get you into a great high school." Loaded with this information, Joshua told his mother that they needed to schedule a 'shadow visit' to De La Salle right away. They arranged a visit, and Joshua had the opportunity to meet the teachers and students and sit in on learning groups for a full day. "I knew right away that De La Salle was the right school for me; it just felt right!"
Joshua entered De La Salle as a seventh grader and had to quickly adjust to small class sizes and the school's unique behavioral intervention system which teaches students to identify the feelings behind their disruptive behaviors. "I was pretty opinionated and stubborn in 7th grade; I couldn't take criticism on anything. But the teachers helped me overcome this obstacle by having me identify what I was feeling, so I could better understand what was going on and fix it. They also said this kind of behavior just wouldn't cut it in high school."
Joshua and Adrian at the Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Writing Contest award ceremony with Michael McMillan. | De La Salle's teachers also helped Joshua overcome his shyness outside of the classroom so that he could become the natural leader they knew he could be. He first became comfortable expressing himself in public by participating in religion class discussions and activities. By practicing with teachers, his self-confidence grew and his shyness diminished.
This year, Joshua won third place in the Martin Luther King Essay contest and read his winning piece in front of hundreds of people at St. Alphonsus "Rock" Church. Joshua was also chosen to give a speech about his experiences at De La Salle to another large audience during the annual NativityMiguel dinner in May.
"The teachers at De La Salle saw what I was capable of. They saw what was inside of me, and they pushed me big time. I know I will be successful and do well in school and support my family and friends. I'm always going to give 100% because it is the key to a great life."
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Congratulations to Our Eighth Graders!
On Graduating and Moving on to High School
Eighth grade graduation was held on Friday, July 16th. Congratulations to Evan A., Adrian B., Marques C., Brian E., Kaylen F., Jordan F., Luke H., Marquita H., Douglas H., Adrienne L., Courtney M., Jonathan P., Emanuel P., Gregory R., Rachel S., and Joshua W.! The Class of 2010 have been accepted to: Cardinal Ritter College Prep, Chaminade College Prep, Christian Brothers College High School, Clyde C. Miller Career Academy, Confluence Preparatory Academy, De Smet Jesuit High School, Incarnate Word Academy, St. Elizabeth Academy, St. Mary's High School and St. John Vianney.
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Join us for De La Salle's 7th Annual Golf Event
Saturday, October 2nd at the Norman K. Probstein Community Golf Course in Forest Park
Join us for a day of golf and fun to benefit the students of De La Salle Middle School:
* 12:00 pm - Lunch & Registration
* 1:30 pm - Shotgun Start
* 5:30 pm - Dinner & Silent Auction
* Platinum Sponsor - $5,000 (Foursome, sign, program listing
& public recognition) * Event Sponsor - $2,500 (Foursome, sign & program listing) * Event Patron - $1,000 (Foursome & program listing) * Hole Sponsor - $250+ (Recognition sign at hole) * Foursome - $600 * Golfer(s) - $150/ea * Dinner Only - $25/ea
Learn more and purchase tickets on our website.
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